5 Steps to Faster Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving continuously. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer additional information or have steps added to their process. They do this additional work to guarantee the end user has the best data to be had. In order to keep up with the continuously changing requirements, Timely Appraisal Services is continuously testing new tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since Timely Appraisal Services knows that time is important to everyone, below are a handful of items you can do to hasten the process on any appraisals ordered with Timely Appraisal Services.

Order your appraisals on the Internet.: By ordering online, you receive automatic e-mail notifications that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the order.
Complete and accurate subject property information is essential.: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily slow down an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name is great information to pass long with the request. We even welcome lists of recent sales in the area — though be advised that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.
Be sure to tell us about the property's unique characteristics.: Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how characteristics unique to a property contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When ordering your report, let us know if there are unique details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's predisposed to flooding. While these are things that we would find out on our own, knowing them as early as possible will likely make your report arrive sooner.
Did you make the homeowner of the home aware of what to expect?: Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming steps in the appraisal process. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uneasy with an unknown person inspecting every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making abundant notes. A common belief is that they should make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection, with the idea that will increase the appraised value. So they reschedule the appraisal inspection until they have cleaned.

Hearing from you -- the person they've been working with on their loan -- a short explanation about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make it more likely their sale will close, and likely decrease the time it takes to inspect a home. I encourage you to point your clients to our website, where we have multiple pages of useful information for homeowners and others about the appraisal process. Advise them to call us if they want to familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment promptly!
Easily track the status of your report on our website.: Why are you still playing phone and fax tag when our website offers up-to-the-minute status updates available online, anytime, 24/7? As we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information is available instantly to you online. There's no easier or faster way to track your report's status.